Walking With Jesus Bible Study Series

The Story behind the Story!

The beginning of the story

Why would I embark on a journey that has now taken me over twenty years to get to
where it currently is? Why do I care whether you get to know Jesus or not?

I was born and raised going to church. I learned about Jesus’ love and forgiveness
from my childhood. In Boy Scouts, I earned my God and Country Award. In high
school, I was challenged to take at least one year of Bible College. After graduating
from state college, I felt lead to enter the preaching ministry and return to Bible
college and spend the rest of my life trying to help others grow in their relationship
with Jesus Christ.

Why did I do it?

I have loved Jesus all of my life. Through my childhood through college experiences, I grew to want to serve Him more. For many years, that was in full-time preaching ministry where I preached, taught Bible study groups and wrote class material on several topics. Even when I wasn’t in preaching ministry, I was always in volunteer ministry. I sought to teach Bible study classes when and where I could. I have never lost my passion to help others become closer to God through the study and application of His Word to our lives today.

During my years in preaching ministry, I taught through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ using a harmony of the Gospels. (A Harmony of the Gospels is a book in which the text of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have been placed side by side on the page so the reader can see what each Gospel says about that event in Jesus’ life.) Each time that I did it, it took me three years to complete. I realized that Jesus’ ministry lasted three years.

Was God planting a seed in my heart for a three-year Bible study about the life and teachings of Jesus?

Over my years, I have observed churches full of people who believed in Jesus, but had little actual knowledge of His life and teachings. What knowledge they did have was broken into the major events with little done to put them into chronological order. Some material dealt with application to our lives today, but some was more information and historical than life-practical.

I have grown in my own knowledge of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ through the events of my life, the work I did in teaching the initial classes on the life of Christ in the churches where I served as the Senior Minister and my awareness of the needs of Christians in our churches today. I have realized that Jesus has experienced every situation that we experience and He knows the solution to every problem that we face.

I see many Christians trying to figure out how to live a Christ-like life, but they have little actual knowledge about what Jesus taught in His life. There is a serious need for people to model their lives after the example that has been established by Jesus living among us on this earth.

My love for Jesus, for His church and the realization that it takes time to build a relationship and change one’s life led me to put together and write the “Walking With Jesus” Bible study lessons. I have noticed that the more people spend time with someone, the more they tend to become like that person. Why not spend more time with Jesus so that we can become more like Him? Wouldn’t that help us solve many of the problems that we are facing in our lives today?

Based on the fact that Jesus’ ministry lasted for three years and that there is no way that we can become like Him in 13 weeks, but that it takes time to build a relationship and become like the person you are within that relationship, I wrote “Walking With Jesus” with the understanding that if we spend time with Jesus Christ in His life and teachings, over time, we will naturally become more like Him. I felt lead by the Holy Spirit to write a Bible study series on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, using all four Gospels and making application to our lives today. That is the foundation for the Walking WIthJesus” Bible study series.

There is a serious need in our churches for those who believe in Jesus to have more knowledge of His life and teachings. Lives are changed and churches are strengthened when the members of those churches study the life of Jesus and allow His teachings and example to influence how we handle the life situations that we encounter today.

When more members become like Christ, they set a better example in their daily living. They become better witnesses to those around them. They becoming living examples of what Jesus would do if He were alive today and living in their situation.

I first wrote out an outline of the lessons from a Harmony of the Gospels that I had used when teaching through the life of Christ previously. Then I started assembling a new Harmony of the Gospels, writing the lessons, discussion questions and homework questions for the “Getting To Know Jesus” Bible study series.

Realizing that many felt they already knew Jesus, the focus of the ministry change to encouraging Christians to walk with Jesus. “Walking with Jesus” is a complete Bible study of every event in Jesus’ life. We go through each event in Jesus’ life and see how it relates to what we are dealing with in our lives today.

As you embark on this journey through the life of Christ, I pray that you will get to know Him better, love Him more and change those things in your life that you need to change to become more like Him. Let’s go on an adventure together “Walking With Jesus”!

submitted by Dr. Glen M. Copple